Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Leopardo Negro, Lobo Vermelho by Marlon James

105 reviews

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

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I am really struggling with this on audiobook. I’m interested in the story and the mythology, but the narrators deep voice is making it very difficult to understand him. Pretty sure that’s a me problem and not something inherent to the narration. I think I’ll try again in print at some point.

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dakdoesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such a hard book to read. Way more brutal than I normally go for, there were many times I needed to shut this and try to un-gross myself out/find mental peace. I have read enough about SA for a long, long time. If you are considering reading this story, assume you will read the worst of all forms of violent trigger warnings. 

And yet, I kept reading. This was my first experience reading about African mythology, which I was completely fascinated by. James truly captures the spirit of mythological tales and oral histories, and while I wouldn’t read another book in this series, I would absolutely check out other works of his. 

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abnerbee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

Incredible mythology and great lore but so, so graphic

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bookishkarina's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.5

Hated this. Disgusting and vulgar language that was so unnecessary. Women were described in such a foul way for no reason whatsoever. Has pedophelia, violent rape scenes, bestiality and so much more disturbing and disgusting stuff. I was in pain the entire time. Read something else. Don’t go through the pain and suffering I did.

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samanthaleereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0


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reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 t is easy to see why "Black Leopard, Red Wolf' received so much acclaim. It is bold in tone and scope. It draws upon a rich culture for inspiration of crafting the world. There is clearly a deep history and complex mythology at play. It does an extraordinary job at calling upon storytelling culture both stylistically and as a device within the narrative. Above all of this, having listened to it on audio, I cannot praise Dion Graham enough for one of the best and what I can only imagine was challenging and exhausting performances I've heard in recent years. 

However, even after 'slowing down' to speeds I don't normally listen at, I had to go back more than once. Somewhere in the middle of this book I kept feeling like I was loosing key information. I consider myself not exceptionally intelligent, but relatively capable of following complex plots as much as the next scifi/fantasy reader. Something about the pacing of this tale, of what started to feel like an excessive amount of additions crammed into a single story, left me feeling just two steps behind. I never was able to get a really good grasp on the world itself. The constant questions started piling up more as frustrations than curiosity for new revelations. 

To ad to this, while I appreciate the mental complexity of the Tracker, the emotional distance he had to place as he was forced into survival mode made if very difficult for me to really connect with him. though I confess I was taken by some of the secondary characters. This might be in part because of the constant fight and flight necessity that just made me feel like I was in a whirlwind. It leaves me wondering if at the time of the writing the author wasn't aware he would be granted a trilogy and was desperate to show all these wonderful gems of ideas in fear that he wouldn't have time to breathe and flesh them out after a single installment. 

Overall, this is a story with so much good and potential. It deserves a chance from readers. but I have to admit after finishing it I'm not entirely compelled to continue on. honestly, it left my brain a touch exhausted in a way that was not rewarding or from a way I could say i was challenged but feel accomplished from. 

I would also like to warn readers that there is excessive and blunt physical and sexual violence as that might be a problem for some. 

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literarygrooves's review against another edition

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Really wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t working for me. Lengthy sections of dialogue not indicating who was speaking with more than 2 characters involved. Jumping timelines that made it difficult for me to get and stay involved in the main storyline. Usually these are things that work just fine for me, but in this case were executed in such a way that left me consistently confused. That on top of what felt like consistent misogyny, graphic violence & SA - If I was more invested in the story or characters, I would’ve probably found it worth my time to push through my issues but I found myself just not caring enough to push through another 400+ pages. Please check content warnings before reading this book!

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a_raptor_named_arsenic's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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krishighway's review against another edition

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halfacenturyreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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